Run 'em over!': Radio host fired for Black Lives Matter comments

Portland, Oregon, sports radio station KXTG-FM fired host Dino Costa after comments he made in June advocating for drivers to run over Black Lives Matter protesters with their cars gained national attention, RadioInsight reported this week.

The radio station initially stood by Costa despite the controversial comments, but new backlash in light of the Charlottesville, Virginia, "Unite the Right" protests led the station to terminate the provocative radio personality. Eugene Weekly posted a transcript of the comments Monday.

"You know these protests where they shut down the road, they lie in the road? If I'm the cops, I wave the traffic on," Costa said during a June 7 broadcast. "Listen, as soon as one or two of these sumbitches are run over you'll see the entire, in unison, everybody be up off the street. When people are being killed by 18-wheel trucks coming by, pickups, cars. Run 'em over!"

Those comments took on a new resonance after Heather Heyer, a Charlottesville counterprotester, died after a white nationalist protester allegedly drove his vehicle into a crowd Saturday.

As late as Monday, a statement from the station said Costa had been disciplined with "aggressive actions" at the time of the original comments, but he had not been fired. Costa wasn't fired until Wednesday, after the displeasure of listeners, as well as the University of Oregon and the MLS Portland Timbers franchise, grew.

KXTG has broadcast agreements with the Timbers and University of Oregon football. The agreements were put in jeopardy once Costa's June comments gained more widespread attention. Both organizations strongly condemned Costa and the sentiments he expressed.

Costa has had a history of controversial or offensive takes on radio, and this wasn't the first time his opinions have cost him a job. He was fired from a St. Louis radio station earlier this year for his comments and behavior, including saying women don't have a place in sports radio.